"Must a people disappear for us to know they exist?" -- Mano Dayak (1949-1995)

In Recognition of the Genocide

This website is dedicated to the hundreds and thousands of Tuareg men, women, and children, including many whole families, who have suffered and died over the past several decades, as a result of the deliberate exclusionary practicesthat have deprived the Tuaregs of critically needed food relief, medical care, and development. Governments have sought to silence the Tuaregs' legitimate complaints, through intimidation, arrests, rape, torture, extrajudicial execution and massacres, and to isolate them from the media and from humanitarian aid. HERE IS A TRIBUTE to the Tuareg people who have bravely continued to struggle for justice. May their voice be heard by the whole World.

Taggalasset!

Search for Names or Topics in Tuareg Culture and News

January 23, 2008

Those who would argue that all warfare is irrational or "wrong" and that the Tuareg rebels should put down their arms and just "be quiet"can learn something about human inequalityandconflict.

Those who do not suffer inequality do not feel it.

Those who suffer from unequal treatmentand deprivation of life's most basic needs, feel it intensely.

In the end,ifthese urgent concerns of the Tuaregs are not acknowledgedand if their voice is not heard,because the government has isolated and suppressed the Tuaregs,and if president Tanjda refuses to negotiate,* the only meaningful thing that remains * for the Tuaregs to do,is to fight.

January 21, 2008

When faced with a legitimate choice between fighting and not fighting, most of us would prefer not to have to take up arms and fight.Some people have no choice, and are conscripted into a national army to serve in the interests of our country -- sometimes for purposes that they personally may not support.Some people would not take up arms under any conditions whatsoever, whether to serve their country, or even in their own self-defense, even if it meant their demise.

There are those who question the major conflicts in the world today, and others who support them.In both categories, there are those who question the small-scale conflicts of sub-groups within a nation that have taken up arms against their own country.

Let's take a look at the Tuareg conflict to try to understand what the various opinions are, and why the rebels have taken up arms.

Peace Focused on Laying Down Arms

There are some who personally do not agree with taking up arms under any circumstances.You can see such views expressed in the Agadez-Niger Forum, for example, where numerous members argue for a "peace" focused on laying down arms -- both the rebels and the government.There, you will see people expressing the view that "peace" means no violence.

Peace Focused on Negotiations

For others, "peace" involves more than just laying down arms -- it requires negotiations:"Je souhaite aussi que le seul ancêtre (TANJA) qui refuse la paix soit contient de ce qu'il fait et qu'il appel au dialogue dans l'interêt de tous les nigeriens."(I also hope that Tandja, who rejects peace, is happy with what he is doing, and that he will call for dialogue in the interest of all Nigeriens.)

Peace Focused on Forgiveness, Tolerance, and Not Holding Grudges

And for others, "peace" is even more complex:"Nous ne saurons jamais progresser si nous n'avons cette hauteur de pardonner, de tolerer de débattre et de jetter la rancune dans la rivière."(We will never know how to progress if we don't forgive, tolerate debate, and throw away our grudges in the river.)Some people might take this perspective even further, to "turn the other cheek," and take the blows without resistance.

Peace Focused on Calm and Quiet

For yet others, "peace" involves a society that is stable, calm and "stays quiet."For example, one member posted:"Espérons que cette année sera synonyme de paix et de quiétude au Niger." (Let's hope that this year will be synonymous with peace and quiet in Niger.)

WHAT PEACE MEANS TO TUAREGS:

Patience Is a Major Virtue Among Tuaregs

For most Tuaregs, peace has all of the above meanings.Tuaregs are a very forgiving people.One of their core values is tezaydert -- Patience.Tuaregs feel it is very important not to react in anger, but to display calm at all times.One can see this in their interactions with one another.Tuareg parents do not beat their children or their wives -- something we see all too frequently in many other cultures, including America and Europe.Even in the case of adultery, a Tuareg husband does not beat or kill his wife, as is known to happen in many other societies.He may confront the male adulterer in a duel to settle his case.But he will not assault his wife or children.Tuareg men value patience above all else.Tuareg men feel it is extremely important to remain in control of their emotions, and to not display personal anger through physical violence, except very infrequently, man-to-man, in certain situations that call for the settlement of a serious score such as adultery.In Tuareg day-to-day life, there is a noticeable lack of displays of anger and violent behavior.This gives a very different feel to someone who has been raised in a culture where parents punish their children physically, and husbands slap and hit their wives.Tuaregs are rarely known to do that sort of thing.Such a physical outburst would upset the peace in a Tuareg household, and would result in a great deal of social ridicule across the community.Patience is one of the major priorities among Tuaregs.It's easy to understand how this is adaptive, since Tuaregs live in very small communities or camps of just a few households, and need for everyone to work together cooperatively for the survival and well-being of the group, and avoid inter-personal violence.Tuaregs value patience -- but patience can sometimes be pushed to an unbearable limit, and in the case of the current warfare, this is what has happened.

Tuareg Warfare

The Tuaregs have a history as renowned warriors, fighting in the past from atop their swift dromedaries in the Sahara, with swords and lances, and now with modern weaponry, showing great expertise and an inestimable knowledge of battle in the desert terrain.This is a different kind of violence from inter-personal violence within a community or household.There are very few societies in the world where the people do not fight to take or defend territory, or to control traffic through their lands, and the Tuaregs historically have been expert at warfare in the Sahara.We cannot make an exception of the Tuaregs based on their warfare, since nearly all societies practice warfare.

Those of us who disdain warfare on any grounds are apt to view Tuareg warfare as irrational or "wrong."In that case, we would also have to examine our own countries' practices of warfare and imperialist actions, and accept the fact that historically, Tuareg warfare has not been so different from our own wars.Those who view Tuareg warfare as "wrong" would likely be of the opinion that the warfare of any state is "wrong."

In the past, some warfare has been viewed as the right thing to do.For example, most Americans would agree that the War of Independence was the right thing to do.American Minutemen took up arms against the British colonizers and won their right to autonomy.Numerous other countries have a similar history, and many nations celebrate their Independence Day.Nearly all Americans felt that World War II was the right thing to do.SomeAmericans feel that the current warfare in the Middle East is the right thing to do, although some are not sure, and some disagree.

Why the Tuaregs Are Fighting Today

The Tuareg rebellions of the early 20th century were a form of resistance to colonization and oppression by the French.

The Tuareg rebellions of the 1990swere, in part, an attempt to gain an independent state comprised of traditional Tuareg territories in Mali and Niger, in response to marginalization and oppression by post-colonial governments.

The current Tuareg rebellions, however, are not aimed at establishing an independent country.They have taken up arms for other reasons, as citizens of modern democratic countries, Mali and Niger, to get some negotiations going, since normal channels of grievance haven't worked.

In Niger, the Tuareg-led Niger Movement for Justice is fighting for justice -- fair and equal treatment of all Nigeriens, and incorporation of the Tuareg people as equal citizens.The members of MNJ say that the Tuareg people have been treated very badly for some decades, and have been politically and economically marginalized within the country.The results of this ethnic marginalization can be seen in unequal distribution of development funds and relief aid.Schools, hospitals, wells, roads, and jobs are severely lacking in Tuareg territories.Niger is a very poor country, but the people who are getting the worst of it, according to MNJ, are the Tuareg people, because of their ethnicity.The Tuaregs feel this inequality especially, because they live on land that is rich in natural resources -- uranium and oil, among others.Niger is one of the foremost suppliers in the world today of uranium;the uranium is in the middle of Tuareg territories; and yet, the Tuaregs live in abject poverty, with high infant mortality, malnutrition, food insufficiency, lack of education and development, and joblessness.Their drinking water and pasture lands have become polluted from the radioactive waste that the uranium companies have spilled on their land.

The MNJ feels this situation should be rectified.Their rebellion in the 1990s resulted in negotiations, and a peace agreement that required the government to provide development, jobs, health care, education, and incorporation of Tuaregs into governance and the military.But thirteen years later, the government of Niger has not come through with their end of the agreement.The Tuareg people are still suffering, and there is no sign of any improvement.The government denies that there is any problem, and refuses to discuss it through normal, democratic channels.

Why Can't They Just Lay Down Their Weapons and Be Peaceful?

The Tuaregs have taken up arms *in desperation,* because they can't get a voice in their democratic country.They continue to be marginalized, nothing has been done to move forward with the terms of the peace agreement signed 13 years ago, the government won't listen to their problems, and they feel they simply have no other choice left to them.

To understand their perspective further, we can learn something from David Kaplan's article, "The Coming Anarchy" (1994).In his article, Kaplan discusses current conflicts around the world, particularly in Africa.Warfare has a lot to do with resource scarcity.And Niger is the Poorest Country in the World( IRIN, 2007; UNDP Human Development Report, 2006).Food insecurity is an annual problem.

In America, it seems inconceivable that a group would take up arms because they have insufficient resources, except perhaps in areas where people are living below the poverty level -- gang wars in impoverished inner-city ghettos, for example.Most of us eat three decent meals a day, and have an income that supports a lifestyle that is unfathomly luxurious by Nigerien standards.

Middle-class Americans and Europeans will find it shocking that "a large number of people on this planet, to whom the comfort and stability of a middle-class life is utterly unknown, find war and a barracks existence a step uprather than a step down" (Kaplan, 1994).As Martin van Creveld says in his book The Transformation of War, "Just as it makes no sense to ask "why people eat" or "what they sleep for," so fighting in many ways is not a means, but an end" (p. 161) -- fighting itself becomes the only meaningful act left in a society where people don't have enough to eat, and not enough basic needs are getting met such as jobs and health care.

Kaplan expresses it best in his "stretch-limo" analogy:"Think of a stretch-limo in the potholed streets of New York City, where homeless beggars live.Inside the limo are the air-conditioned post-industrial regions of North America, Europe, the emerging Pacific Rim, and a few other isolated places with their trade summitry and computer-information highways.Outside is the rest of mankind, going in a completely different direction" (Kaplan 1994).

In Niger, it's especially pressing on the Tuaregs, who live on land that is rich in resources -- worth millions in uranium revenues -- and yet they are denied any benefit.The government has shown itself to be seriously corrupt -- enough to result in a vote of no-confidence in 2007 (IHT, May 2007).MNJ alleges that the President, Tandja, has stolen uranium funds that were designated for development in the North, and put them in his own foreign bank account (MNJ, Dec. 9, 2007).Ethnic hostility has been heated up, MNJ alleges, through government "hate campaigns" against the Tuareg people on national TV, radio and on the Internet (MNJ, July 14, Sept. 27, Oct. 5, Nov. 1, Dec. 4, 2007). The government has sent its army out without proper direction, and the result has been illegal arrests, torture and massacres of innocent civilians (Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch, Dec. 19, 2007).The government has isolated the Tuareg people from the media, and banned relief aid and humanitarian efforts from reaching them (IRIN, Dec. 10, 2007).

From the Tuareg perspective, they are being treated like prisoners on their own land.The resources are there, on their land, but they cannot receive any benefit.Humanitarian aid has been cut off to them.The rebels are men who have decided to try the only thing left that might help their people get a voice, fighting.

Is Warfare a Rational Choice?

Those who would argue that all warfare is irrational or "wrong" and that the Tuareg rebels should put down their arms and "be quiet" can learn something about human inequality and conflict.Those who do not suffer inequality do not feel it.Those who suffer from unequal treatment and deprivation of basic needs feel it intensely.

In the end,ifthese urgent concerns of the Tuaregs are not acknowledgedand if their voice is not heard,because the government has isolated and suppressed the Tuaregs,and if president Tanjda refuses to negotiate,* the only meaningful thing that remains * for the Tuaregs to do,is to fight.

January 17, 2008

Europeans have been exotifying the Tuaregs for over a century.Tourist agencies feature posters of "The Blue Men," the fabulous remote Tuaregs, peeking through their "veils" mysteriously with grinning eyes, or sauntering along on swift white camels toward the remotest edges of the Martian-like Saharan landscape.

But today, you will not get to visit the Tuaregs in Niger, because Mamadou Tandja has closed the doors on them.They are a best-kept secret.

Something is going on up there in the North.There are nasty, horrible secrets that the Niger government doesn't want us to find out about.Every year, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have reported abuses of one sort or another in Niger, some of which may also be found in U.S. Country reports for Niger, but this past year it was particularly bad:The rights reports confirm that the government's army has been going around torturing and killing Tuareg civilians and livestock in the Air Mountains, and leaving mass graves in their wake.

Civilians in the Air have fled the area, leaving their homes in shambles. It is winter in the Sahara, and these families are huddling in the cold, in makeshift camps in the middle of the Sahara, far from their homes, with nothing to eat, in fear, with no hope forthcoming.The government closed off tourist traffic through the area months ago, banned humanitarian aid to the Tuareg people, and essentially declared that anyone who dared to report on the situation would face the death penalty. It's a secret!

For months, the Tuareg-led rebels kept posting messages on their website, pleading for journalists and rights groups to come interview them, and document the government's crimes against civilians.Tuareg civilians in the northern Air Mountains fled in fear of the army's predation on their villages.Because of the news blackout and government's gagging of the press, the only voice left for the Tuaregs was "The Voice of Free Men" -- the Niger Movement for Justice, the Tuareg rebels, who have a website where they regularly report on the developing situation.For months, they kept calling for help, for journalists, for human rights, to come there and see for themselves.

Voice of America reporter Phuong Tran somehow managed to get up to the North and traveled with the rebels for eleven days.Her report came out on Nov. 28.There were no photographs or videotapes, and very few details -- nothing about the army's arrests, torture, and execution of civilians.Most of her report could have been learned by reading the posts on the Niger Justice Movement's website.Her report was heavily guarded, to avoid conflict with Tandja's mandate.After all, it's a secret!

Human rights groups -- Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch -- went to Niger in December to investigate the abuses, but apparently, according to their reports issued on Dec. 19, it seems that they were held in Niamey, and never made it to Agadez or the Air Mountains to see for themselves, and interview the rebels and local people.It would appear that even the human rights groups were limited mainly to hearsay and the opinions of foreign diplomats on what the actual situation was.The bad stuff going on in the North is not to be seen by anybody, because the Niger government has isolated Tuareg regions from the rest of the world.Meanwhile, the army has continued to carry out its abuses, slaughtering Tuareg livestock, and terrorizing villagers (as reported on MNJ website).Most of the news about the rebels and the Tuareg population was based on what the MNJ rebel website was reporting, because that was the only voice left in the area.The rebels have been diligent, posting every few days on the army's abuses, accompanied with the grim photographs of mass graves.

Finally, two top-notch European reporters headed out there in early December, Thomas Dandois, and Pierre Creisson.They got permission to report on the bird flu in the south of Niger.Intrepid and daring, these two remarkable men, who recently produced brilliant coverage of the situation in Darfur, figured out a way to get to northern Niger.They found the rebels and they got the story, complete with camera footage.Tandja had his spies following them, and arrested them for interviewing the rebels.He has had them in jail for a month now, awaiting trials and the threat of execution.The Tuareg rebellion in the North is a big secret!And it's a taboo topic in the Niger news, unless reporters practice self-censorship and only say things that reflect the state's bias against the Tuaregs and their rebellion.

Over the past year, numerous reporters have tried to interview the rebels by telephone or through local contacts.But the government had at least 14 journalists arrested in 2007 (IRIN Jan. 14, 2007), for doing what they were trained to do -- and for doing what the Niger Constitution expressly allows them to do -- freedom of the press.Four reporters are languishing in jails right now, awaiting sentencing.Nigerien president Tandja Mamadou has threatened them with the death penalty.Although Niger is allegedly a democracy, and freedom of the press is an integral part of its constitution, Tandja has declared that no reporters shall report impartially on the Tuareg situation in the north, because such reporting is a "threat to security."

Finally, this week, the uranium mining company Areva was able to get a deal -- they paid 50% more this time around, to renew contracts to exploit Niger's uranium.And they vowed to "stay out of Niger's politics."No mention was made of hiring the local Tuaregs to work at the company, which is built on traditional Tuareg lands.No mention was made of making sure that the Tuareg regions would receive development funds -- something that was guaranteed by the Peace Accords of 1995.These are some of the most important reasons that the rebels have taken up arms:in the 13 years since rebels signed a peace agreement, the government has continued to marginalize the Tuareg people, and refuses to honor the terms of the Peace agreement.

The French administration longs for uranium, at such a cost -- the perpetuated impoverishment and cruel treatment of the people on whose lands they have squatted and taken their only riches, with no returns to the local Tuareg population.

Tandja and his cronies are lining their pockets with the uranium funds.They have stepped up the deals with numerous countries, to garner as many advances as possible before their time is up.According to MNJ, Tandja is ferreting public uranium funds designated for development in the North, into foreign bank accounts and real estate.Elections are coming up soon, Tandja is on his way out, and there's no time to waste. Other corrupt politicians may take his place in this racist, sadistic dictatorship.

France wants the uranium.Tandja wants to line his pockets, quickly.Other world powers don't want to interfere; they have their own interests to protect.They turn their heads on the horrors of what's going on in the North, and make deals with a minor Hitler of the third millennium.

SHAME ON AREVA!Shame on the world powers who sit in silence, while thousands of men, women and children are suffering because of your best kept secret!

With local and international reporters incarcerated and awaiting death sentences for even interviewing the rebels for their news reports,who would dare speak out for justice-- except for rebels?

"There is no voice of the peoplethat would dare speak outagainst the current dictatorship."-- Ahmed Akoli, political secretary for MNJ. December 21, 2007

January 16, 2008

There are three different petitions circulating for Peace In Niger (one is in three languages, so five petitions total). So far, at least 1,979 individuals and organizations have signed the petitions. All the petitions are asking for essentially the same thing -- NEGOTIATION for PEACE in NIGER, and NO MORE VIOLENCE.

January 13, 2008

Photo: The Tuareg blues band Tinariwen performs on stage. They have numerous CD albums, which are available on Amazon.com Each year, Tinariwen hosts the Festival of the Camel, at Tessalit, in Mali. Photo credit: Slushpup, on Flickr

In Mali last night, Tuaregs just finished up with two international folk festivals.There's the Festival of the Camel, hosted by the Tuareg band Tinariwen, at Tessalit, and the Festival in the Desert, at Essakane, only 65 kilometers from Timbuktu.During the day, there are traditional Tuareg celebrations, including camel races, drumming and singing events performed by Tuareg women (tende), workshops and parades.At night there are concerts.

Thousands of Tuaregs, and several hundred tourists have been enjoying the music of numerous Tuareg blues and rock groups from Mali, Niger and Mauretania, as well as some other local bands, and even some imported ones.Imagine a band stage, with lights, a booming sound system and a vast audience, out the in the middle of the Sahara!The Essakane festivities feature a group of Eskimo (Inuit) performers all the way from Alaska.

Many of the members of the Tuareg bands were once rebels who originally met as refugees in Libya and Algeria in the late 60s, 70s and 80s.They have their CDs for sale on Amazon.com, and you can listen to selections of their music there.Many of the bands are listed below this post, under Contemporary Tuareg music.

If you want to go there next year, make an appointment for a yellow fever shot, get a visa, and start saving your cash -- several thousand dollars.Tuaregs and Europeans organized these festivities, and the Malian government helped sponsor it.

On the other hand, try to imagine a Tuareg village, Iferwan, just a few hundred miles away to the east, that became a ghost town only a few weeks ago.The people there fled south to Agadez, west to Arlit, and north to Algeria, because they were afraid of the Niger army.

In their country, Niger, the army has been hunting down, arresting, torturing and brutally murdering Tuareg civilians in their region, in retaliation for attacks by the Tuareg-led Niger Movement for Justice (MNJ), which has taken up arms to try and get negotiations for a better life for their people.Niger has always hovered at the bottom of the U.N. Human Development Index, where many people have to try to feed their families for about $1 a day (UN Common Database: 60.56% in 1995), and nearly everybody lives in desperate poverty.

The 2005 Niger Food Crisis brought world attention to the suffering in Niger, when many Americans will remember the broadcasts by CNNs Anderson Cooper, who went to Niger to document the "pencil stick" babies and starving people. In 2006, Niger was declared the Poorest County in the World.The Tuaregs have been economically marginalized, and have routinely been excluded from food relief, medical aid, and development funds for decades, since the country's independence.

Both Mali and Niger are poor, but the music festivals in Mali highlight the fact that the Malian government now seems in certain ways more favorable to acknowledging and including the Tuaregs.Even though rebel activities have recently been going on there, too, the Tuaregs in Mali can host these joyous festivals, and bring some cheer and acclaim to their people.

In Niger, no one is allowed to visit the Tuaregs, to see the dreadful conditions they are living in, and to hear their plight. The government stopped tourist traffic through Tuareg areas many months ago, banned Doctors Without Borders from the Agadez region, cut off shipments of food relief to Agadez from Libya, and has refused to allow relief workers and supplies into the area to help the Tuaregs.

There is a virtual news blackout on the situation, since the government has said that no one is allowed to give an honest report.The news is heavily filtered and manipulated, and in order to survive, newspapers and radio stations must practice self-censorship.Four reporters are in jail, awaiting possible death sentences for allegedly interviewing the rebels.

As recently as ten days ago (Jan. 3rd), according to MNJ, the Niger army moved through Tuareg villages in the North, shooting their livestock, and extorting them.The Tuaregs in Niger live in a climate of fear and repression.

Last week, a landmine blew up in Niamey, hundreds of miles from the conflict area, and killed a radio reporter.Some groups fear that Niger's clampdown on freedom of speech and of the press has gone from bad to worse.Has the government of Niger resorted to killing reporters, and instilling fear in the general population?The Niger Defense Minister has accused the Tuaregs of laying landmines in the cities (which they refuse), and he has called on citizens "to fight" against them.

The Niger army has gone out of control, killing Tuareg civilians and livestock.The government has, according to MNJ, been running hate campaigns against the Tuareg people on the national TV and radio stations.Various leaders have been talking about "finishing off" the rebels and "exterminating" the Tuaregs.The Defense Minister seems to be calling for some sort of civilian "vigilance brigades" or militias against the Tuareg rebels, since the national army hasn't been effective.

Where will it all end?Is the Niger government so corrupt and confused that it means to start another genocide like Rwanda's?

From being at the bottom of the world heap in terms of development and food security in 2006, Niger has risen to the top of the world list of abusers of human rights, as a "predator" on freedom of the press, according to the Media Foundation for West Africa (MNJ has a post addressing this topic).

What can be done? It's pretty grim -- 3,500 Tuareg men, women and children are huddled together far from their homes in a remote area of northern Niger, with nothing to eat, no shelter, no medical attention, and no way to get help, since the government has cut off the North from the usual American and European non-government organizations that would provide help.

But some Tuareg organizations are trying to pull together an emergency relief campaign, through local people.You can find out more about it by clicking on the following websites: Tchinagen andTarguinca

January 10, 2008

Yesterday (Tuesday, January 8, 2007) a Nigerien journalist was killed when a landmine exploded under his car in Niamey, and the Niger government immediately blamed the Tuareg-led rebel group, Niger Movement for Justice (MNJ).Moreover, Niger's Defense Minister, Ben Omar, has issued an appeal to the country's citizens to set up "vigilance brigades" to fight against "these new types of assassins" (Reuters, Jan. 9, 2008 15:29 GMT).Is there any reason to believe that the rebellion in the North would target the director of a private radio station 1,000 miles away in Niamey?

Background on Landmines in Niger:

The use of landmines emerged in July 2007, when MNJ reported that they had observed the Niger army laying Chinese landmines in the conflict zone in the north (MNJ July 16, 2007).MNJ has maintained a steady record of the use of Chinese weapons and landmines by the Niger army in the Air Mountains, on their blog (MNJ July 7, July 16, July 31, Aug. 20, Sept. 27, Dec. 12, Dec. 16, Dec. 20, Jan. 2, Jan. 9). At first, the mines appeared only in the conflict zone. Then, the Niger government made an announcement in November 2007 that the rebels would begin "acts of urban terror" by laying mines in the cities (Reuters, Jan. 9, 2008). On Nov. 21, police foiled an attempt to detonate an anti-tank mine in a fuel depot in Dosso; on Dec. 10, two landmines exploded on the same day, in Tahoua and Maradi (Reuters, Dec. 11, 2007); all three cities are far to the south of the conflict zone in the north of the Air Mountains.

There was some contradiction in the reportage on a landmine discovered recently in Tanout.A Niamey-based news source L'Union recently reported that two Tuareg men connected with MNJ were apprehended in Tanout, for allegedly laying landmines in front of the Prefet's home in Tahoua on Dec. 18.However, the independent newspaper Le Republicain asks why the Nigerien authorities are not being more diligent about pursuing the "real" perpetrators, and questions whether or not the men arrested at Tanout were actually the guilty ones. Given the government's campaign to demonize the Tuaregs on the national radio and television (see MNJ blog -Highlights in English) it is not clear whether or not the arrested men were framed, in order to support the government's policies.

[UPDATE: It was the Prefet of Tanout who allegedly planted the landmine in Tanout, according to MNJ: On Jan. 21, MNJ conducted a surprise attack on Tanout and captured the Prefet, Garba Kona. MNJ alleges that the Prefet, who is currently their prisoner, "acknowledges, without any coercion or threat whatsoever on our part, of organizing the conspiracy to lay the landmine at Tanout, an act of which peaceful citizens were accused." (MNJ, Jan. 19, 2008)]

Two news agencies have implied that the journalist had no known enemies in the currently divided government: Afrol reported, "during his lifetime, he was not known for critical reporting," (Afrol Jan. 9, 2008).A BBC correspondent in Niamey alleged that the victim "was not known to be critical of either side."However, possible evidence to the contrary is described below (History of RM Radio Station). The Niger government and many of the news sources have pointed either directly or indirectly to the Tuareg-led rebel group MNJ (Niger Movement for Justice), whose base of operations is over 1,000 miles away, in the Air Mountains, north of Agadez, where the conflict is defined and centered.How likely is it that Tuaregs would plant landmines in Niamey?What else is going on in Niger that might help explain what happened?What facts can be gleaned from the news reports, as well as past reports and news items over the past few years, that would help us understand what this is all about?

1.Virtual news blackout in Niger:Beginning end of last summer 2007, not long after the U.S. brought a media expert to Niamey in July to provide a training conference to local journalists and reporters to encourage freedom of the press and responsible journalism in a democratic society, President Tandja's regime began restricting the mediathrough force, arresting and incarcerating reporters who had interviewed or reported "sympathetically" on the Tuareg-led rebel group, Niger Movement for Justice (MNJ).

(a)RFI, BBC and VOA broadcasts can be shut down at any time in Niger: In July, the government suspended local FM radio broadcasts of Radio France Internationale (RFI) for one month, because they seemed to be broadcasting news that was sympathetic to the MNJ, and saying things that made Tandja's regime look bad. RFI is the major world radio broadcaster for France, as is BBC for Britain, and Voice of America for the U.S.In order to remain on the air at this point, RFI, BBC and VOA must continually remind themselves of Tandja's recent history of shutting down international radio broadcasts in Niger.It's worth keeping that in mind, in assessing the content, perspectives and tone of their current coverage of news events in Niger.Their broadcasts could easily be shut down by Tandja if they say anything that seems too sympathetic toward MNJ.

(b)Prominent Nigerien reporters jailed:

(i)The manager of Radio Saraouniya,Moussa Kaka, was arrested Sept. 20, and has remained in jail since September 20th for interviewing a member of the MNJ over the telephone, even though a Nigerien judge said the conversations were taped illegally and cannot be used as evidence. (RSF, October 15, 2007)

(ii) Aïr Info news editor Ibrahim Manzo was arrested October 9 and accused of being “the correspondent for Radio France Internationale (RFI) in Agadez." He was later charged with "criminal association," because of some articles he wrote that mentioned the MNJ, and he remains in prison with murderers and thieves. (RSF, October 31, 2007)

(iii)Daouda Yacouba, the In Gall correspondent for Aïr Info, was arrested on Oct. 25 and detained for six days because he allegedly interviewed a member of the MNJ. (RSF, November 2, 2007)

(c)Prominent French reporters jailed:

(i)Francois Bergeron, an independent French documentary film-maker, was arrested Oct. 7, and deported from Niger after being held in jail for a month after allegedly taking film footage involving members of MNJ. He had been filming Tuareg nomads in the Agadez region when he was arrested. (Reuters, October 6, 2007; The Times, South Africa, Oct. 7, 2007)

(ii)Two French TV journalists, reporter Thomas Dandois and cameraman Pierre Creisson, were arrested Dec. 17 for interviewing members of the MNJ; they are accused of endangering state security.They have remained in jail in Niger, and threatened with the death penalty. (IHT, December 20, 2007)

(d)Self-Censorship is in effect:In order to survive, newspapers and radio stations have had to submit to self-censorship.This creates a concern for the content, perspectives and tone of all news coverage in Niger.The news is not complete or reliable, and what goes into print or is aired on the radio must appear to be favorable to the government. There are no checks and balances in Niger.

2.Facts of the victim's death:

(a)Abdou Mahaman Jeannot was killed Tuesday, January 8, 2008, while driving home in his Toyota with a female friend, who was injured.(AFP Jan. 8, 2008)

(b)He was killed by a landmine, around 10:30 PM.(AFP Jan. 8, 2008)

(c)The landmine was hidden under a dirt service road, a detour off the main road that had very little traffic.(AFP Jan. 8, 2008, VOA Jan. 9, 2008)

(a)The road was in the Yantala suburb, where many Army officers live (BBC, Jan. 9, 2008)

(b)The Road to Tondibia is also in Yantala suburb.

(c)Tondibia is the main army base, where MNJ says 9 landmines disappeared recently. (MNJ December 20, 2007)

(d)Niamey is 1,000 miles from the conflict zone in the North.

(e)A local journalist in Niamey, Khader Idy, told VOA "whoever planted the landmine may have had a strategic reason. He says repairs to the main road required drivers to use that side road as a detour."(VOA Jan. 9, 2008)

(c)He was also one of the leaders of the association of private radio promoters in Niger (APRPN).

(d)RM was the first independent radio station in Niger, founded in 1992 (APA, Jan. 9, 2008)

(e)RM broadcasts international news from VOA, BBC and Radio Deutsch Welle.

(f)Contrary to what Afrol and BBC reported, it appears that RM has a history of some negative interaction with the government.

5.History of RM Radio Station:

(a)In late Oct. 1998, Niger temporarily shut down all international broadcasts on private Niger radio stations, including R et M.(IRIN, Nov. 3, 1998)

(b)In Nov. 1998, it was reported that officials in Niger temporarily banned all relays of international broadcasters in private Niger stations -- the two Niger private FM broadcasters "singled out for restriction" were Anfani and R et M. Both broadcast news from Voice of America, Radio Deutsche Welle and the BBC.Daouda Diallo, president of Niger’s media authority, Le Conseil superieur de la communication (CSC), said the ban would remain effective until international broadcasters sign contracts with the government - agreements which would help establish who would be held legally responsible in the event of legal actions.(Friends of Niger Newsletter, Nov. 1998)

(c)At the end of 1998, two radio stations, including R et M, received warnings not to relay any news that would "raise political tensions" in the country, an order equivalent to censoring news about political parties opposing the regime.(Amnesty International, January 1999 Report

(e)Most recently - one week before the victim's death:The Conseil Supérieur de la Communication required certain journalists to present themselves to CSC and apply for "press cards," something the Niger government has done in the past when it is cracking down on certain reporters; a journalist from R et M was on the list.(Tam Tam Info, Dec. 31, 2007)

6.Responses:

(a)Government of Niger:No official response (APA Jan. 9, 2007).No expression of sympathy for the victim's family.Accusations of the Tuareg-led rebels.Announcement to citizens to form "vigilance brigades" and to fight against "these new types of assassins" (Reuters, Jan. 9, 2008 15:29 GMT).

(b)Niger Movement for Justice (MNJ):Public rejection of blame for the incident, on their Internet website:"The Niger Movement for Justice (MNJ)strongly denounces the assassination of the Director of Radio RM Niamey."Expression of sympathy for the victim.VOA contacted Aoutchiki Mohammed Kriska, MNJ spokesman, who denies that MNJ had any part in the explosion. He says the rebels learned of the explosion with consternation and have never sought to target civilians in Niamey or elsewhere.He accuses government forces of staging attacks against civilians and blaming his group. He says some suggest it is to turn public opinion against the rebels and justify a security crackdown." (VOA Jan. 9, 2008).

7.Observations:

(a)MNJ says that the Niger government has shifted into high gear, from censoring and arresting reporters, and and threatening them with the death penalty, to actually assassinating reporters.

(b)MNJ points out, Why didn't this mine kill someone from the Government, instead of a director of a radio station?It's because the Government is the one that planted the mine.

(c)On the Agadez-Niger Forum, where Tuaregs, non-Tuaregs, and Europeans discuss the day to day events, one poster said:"There is a view that the mine yesterday may have links with mines stolen or lost from Tondibia [the main Niger military base, in Niamey]. If it is, I think that the perpetrators should be easy to find and may have linkages with the latest events that took place in Niamey." Another poster said, "In some quarters of the politico-military there are those who seem to want anarchy during these times when the political landscape is being reconstituted at the end of Tandja's second term," and noted that there have been seriouspolitical tensions since the vote of no-confidence in the government last summer.Another poster noted that there are no official government investigations taking place, or if there are, they don't have results. At least two posters feel it could have been *neither* MNJ nor the Army who laid the mine that killed Abdou Mahaman. (Agadez-Niger Forum, Jan. 9, 2008)

(d) (UPDATE) The IFJ [International Federation of Journalists] has called for a full investigation of Abdou Mahaman's death; they say they fear that "Niger’s government is increasing its pressure on journalists in an attempt to silence reports on the rebellion." (IJF, Jan. 9, 2008)

(e) There may be some predisposing circumstances surrounding R et M Radio Station, based on what little can be gleaned from its history of interactions with the Niger government -- it has been "singled out" from time to time, for various warnings, restrictions, and bans. The Tam Tam Info article of Dec. 31, 2007 may hold a clue. But Niger has a record of not investigating assassinations -- most notably, that of President Mainassara Baré. The present government of Niger absolved his assassins.

To: Government of the Republic of Niger, United Nations,European Commission

Since its independence, the state of Niger has been in latent conflict with the Tuareg population living in Nigerien territories. This situation escalated in 1990 with a massacre of this population group in Tchin-Tabaraden and resulted in an armed conflict. After the conclusion of a treaty of peace, which was intended to make allowances for certain claims brought forward by the Tuareg organizations in 1995, this conflict calmed down. Today, it seems that the implementation of the treaty has failed. This has caused new dissatisfaction among the population in the north of Niger.

A new Tuareg movement “Mouvement des Nigériens pour la Justice” (MNJ, Movement of Nigeriens for Justice) has formed whose central demand is that the peace accords signed in 1995 be met.

Another issue is that the exploitation of the uranium deposits in the regions inhabited by the Tuareg remains an unsolved problem. The local population has practically no benefit from the proceeds gained out of these mineral resources, while the ecological consequences of the uranium production seriously endanger the population and their environment.

We observe that the current crisis is seriously threatening the democratic process in Niger, in particular as the government seems to fall back on out-dated, dictatorial methods in order to gag the press and to impede the freedom of expression of the citizens.

Confronted with this situation and the risks involved for the population in the north of Niger, we make the following observations:

(1) Violations of human rights

(a) Homicides in June 2007

On June 10, 2007, three Tuareg men, very advanced in years, named Sidi Mohamed Imolan – called Kalakoua - Abtchaw Kounfi and Aoussouk Kounfi, two of whom were visually handicapped and a one-legged amputee, were arrested by the Nigerien army near the Tezirzayt well. These three old men were killed during imprisonment. The corpses were left behind near the Tezirzayt well, one of the corpses being dismembered.

On June 17, 2007 the Nigerien head of state, the interior minister and the commandant of the military section Agadez, one after the other, confirmed the death of the three men.

The nomad population of the Tezirzayt valley, including the pupils and the teacher of the local school, were expelled from there by the military.

(b) Homicides in August 2007

On August 26, a patrol of the Nigerien army (FAN) indiscriminately shot an aged man and his little caravan of 11 camels and 4 donkeys on their way from Arlit. This happened 1km and 200m from the Gougaram–Iférouane national road.

(c) Arrests

At the end of August, the president of the Republic Niger, Mamadou Tandja, declared a three-month state of emergency for the department Agadez. Since the time the emergency act has been applied, more than 100 civilians have been temporarily arrested. At least 10 out of these people are still waiting for the accusal and are detained under inhuman conditions.

The taking under arrest and the detention by the army or the police of civilians who are not involved in the armed conflict, and who have not committed any offence to the law, constitutes an act of “arbitrary detention” and therefore a violation of Article 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

(d) Land mines

According to the inhabitants of the region, the Nigerien army laid landmines around Inferouane. As a direct consequence thereof, the free moving space for the population and their herds is considerably reduced. This means a real threat to the existence of these people. The supply of food has become almost impossible and the little quantities of products available in the market place are offered at unaffordable prices. This situation forces many families to leave the northern region towards the south.

Should the state turn out to be responsible for the laying of mines, the Nigerien government would be guilty of having broken the Ottawa Convention. This Convention prohibits the use, stockpiling and transfer of anti-personal mines in the form of a treaty under international law. Niger ratified the Ottawa Convention as early as 1997; two years later, the Ottawa Convention came into force for all signatory states.

(e) Homicides in September 2007

On September 26, 2007, a patrol of the Nigerien army (FAN, Forces Armées du Niger) stopped several motor vehicles, which were going in a northward direction, near Innazawa and Tadara. The army forced the passengers out and separated the dark-skinned from the light-skinned, who were probably taken for Tuareg. The 12 light-skinned people were then executed by the Nigerien army.

On September 27, 2007, further southwards, near the road between Assamakka and Arlit, the same soldiers captured 22 Tuaregs – men, women and children – in their tents and causelessly shot them to death.

None of the dead persons was involved in the hostilities. There is no accusal against them. They were executed beyond any legal procedure, a fact that constitutes a severe violation of human rights.

The methods applied by the FAN and by the Nigerien government strongly conflict with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Geneva Convention, and can not be accepted.

(2) Ecological impact of the uranium mining

For more than 30 years, the company AREVA and its Nigerien subsidiary companies have extracted uranium from mines in the region around Arlit (in northern Niger). Huge quantities of radioactive waste rock are produced, which would have to be deposited sealed off from the environment for thousands of years. In the uranium mining region around Arlit, however, the radioactive waste is deposited open-air and, among other things, is blown over the area by the wind. The radioactive substances leak into the groundwater and get into the food chain, representing a considerable threat for nature, animals and human beings. These facts were confirmed by a study prepared by CRIIRAD (Commission de Recherche et d'Information Indépendantes sur la Radioactivité) in spring 2007.

In order to dramatically increase (double) the uranium production and exports, the Nigerien government has issued exploration licenses to North-American, Chinese and French companies in the past few months. The consequences for the environment and for the people and animals living in this region (Environmental Impact Studies) have not been studied. Since the beginning of 2007 more than 122 licenses have been issued to foreign companies - in a region which traditionally is characterized by stock-breeding and some agriculture. These agricultural activities constitute the economic basis for the local population. Even more alarming are the circumstances under which these extraction licenses have been granted. The Nigerien press repeatedly broached the issue of the awarding process and talks about a dubious license market.

It is unacceptable that uranium is extracted under conditions undermining the environmental law and that the industrialized countries’ energy supply is provided via destruction of the ecologic system of the Nigerien population.

(3) Violations of the freedom of the press and the freedom of opinion

Since the outbreak of the conflicts between MNJ and the Nigerien government, the freedom of the press has substantially been violated in the country:

• The independent local newspaper “Aïr-Info” in Agadez, which had reported on the conflict, was banned from publishing for three months (June – August).

• Three other newspapers from Niamey, that had reported on the disruptions, got a warning;

• The French radio station RFI (Radio France Internationale) was banned from broadcasting for one month (July – August) after having protested against the prohibition of sending reporters to the conflict zone in northern Niger and having reported on the conflict. The RFI reporter and correspondent, Moussa Kaka, was threatened with death by a high Nigerien military.

• On September 20, 2007, Moussa Kaka, correspondent of RFI, was arrested.

• On October 9, 2007, Ibrahim Manzo Diallo, chief editor of the local newspaper “Aïr-Info” was arrested.

Both journalists had repeatedly reported on the conflict and are still under arrest without due process of law. The motives of the imprisonment have internationally been denounced in the meantime (by Reporters Sans Frontières and the international committee for the protection of journalists).

The repeated breach of the freedom of the press and the freedom of opinion is inconsistent with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and therefore unacceptable!

In the light of these facts, we demand:

• As a matter of principal, a peaceful solution of the conflict through negotiations and the immediate stopping of military actions;

• Clarification of how the homicide of the three elderly Tuareg men by the FAN on June 10, 2007 near Tezirzayt could happen;

• Clarification of how the homicide of an aged Tuareg and his animals, coming from the market place, who was shot by FAN on August 26, 2007 near Arlit, could happen;

• Investigation of the incidents that occurred on September 26 and 27 in the border area between Iferouane, Gougaram and Assamakka, and which led to the execution of 34 Tuareg civilians by the FAN;

• Surrender of the responsible persons for an independent trial;

• Observance of the Ottawa Convention of 1999;

• Protection of the civilian population and cessation of arbitrary convictions and of extrajudicial arrests and executions according to UN Conventions;

• Observance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights;

• Observance of the Geneva Convention;

• Independent investigations on the environmental impact of the uranium production (fauna, flora, water, air) on the entire food chain, the people living in this region and on their health;

• Stopping the issue of new exploration licenses without comprehensive and independent studies on the environmental impact, for uranium and any other mineral resources (like e.g. gold, oil etc.);

• Discharge of the journalists arrested and restoration of the freedom of the press.